Child pornography arrests on the rise in Utah

Morgan Smith, Associated Press

Updated
5:36 pm EDT, Friday, May 17, 2019

Bethany Warr, a lawyer with the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic and works with victims of child pornography in Utah, stands in front of the Matheson Courthouse Friday, May 17, 2019, in Salt Lake City. Investigators say child pornography arrests have nearly doubled in Utah over the last five years, mirroring a nationwide trend. For child victims, the emotional and physical damage can be long-term, especially because the images can exist online forever, said Warr. "It's a wound that never heals, the material is out there and you don't know who in the world has seen you, seen your abuse and pain, and enjoyed it," she said. less

Bethany Warr, a lawyer with the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic and works with victims of child pornography in Utah, stands in front of the Matheson Courthouse Friday, May 17, 2019, in Salt Lake City. ... more

Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP

Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP

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Bethany Warr, a lawyer with the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic and works with victims of child pornography in Utah, stands in front of the Matheson Courthouse Friday, May 17, 2019, in Salt Lake City. Investigators say child pornography arrests have nearly doubled in Utah over the last five years, mirroring a nationwide trend. For child victims, the emotional and physical damage can be long-term, especially because the images can exist online forever, said Warr. "It's a wound that never heals, the material is out there and you don't know who in the world has seen you, seen your abuse and pain, and enjoyed it," she said. less

Bethany Warr, a lawyer with the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic and works with victims of child pornography in Utah, stands in front of the Matheson Courthouse Friday, May 17, 2019, in Salt Lake City. ... more

Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP

Child pornography arrests on the rise in Utah

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Child pornography arrests have nearly doubled in Utah over the last five years, mirroring a nationwide trend that experts say has been fueled by rapid developments in technology.

New advancements have both made it easier for users to find the images and for investigators to catch them, authorities said.

In 2013, Utah police arrested 133 people accused of downloading child pornography, according to department statistics. Last year, they arrested 226 people on such charges.

Child pornography crimes have steadily increased throughout the country as well. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit organization that works with victims of child abuse, received more than 18 million CyberTipline reports of possible cases in 2018, compared with 10 million reports in 2017, said John Shehan, a vice president at the center.

Better technology has helped agencies like Utah's Internet Crimes Against Children task force to detect child abuse, but the internet and smart devices have also given people with a sexual interest in children easier access to child pornography, Cmdr. Jessica Farnsworth said.

Her unit is set to outpace 2018's total this year, with 104 arrests already made in the first three months.

There has been an influx of reports around the U.S. following the passage of a federal law in 2012 requiring frequently used platforms like Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram and others to report child pornography as they become aware of it, Shehan said.

In Utah, police are seeing more victims aged five and under, Farnsworth said. A recent case involved a newborn baby. Younger victims who don't understand abuse make it harder to find who is producing the material, she added.

"This state is like a candy store for predators. We have a lot of children, and we're friendly, forgiving people here," Farnsworth said.